The More You Love Someone
by Supersinger9000
Summary: ...The more you want to kill them. Shortly after "The Ex" Gumball realizes that he has romantic feelings for his arch nemesis, but his feelings for Penny hasn't gone away either. So Gumball has to grapple with his feelings and try to make sure that no one gets hurt in the process.
1. Chapter 1

Gumball sat in his room listening to "I Vow" on his boombox. He couldn't understand it, his plan worked, Rob was his nemesis again. So why didn't he feel happy? Darwin came in the room in the middle of his moping and said "Uh oh, sitting alone in your room listening to a sad song on the boombox? That's never a good sign. But I thought everything worked out between you and Penny, did the message on Alan not work?"

"No, it did. I got everything I wanted." Gumball said sadly. Darwin picked up on this. He knew his brother way to well, so he was pretty sure he knew what was going on here. He decided to tread lightly though, in case he was wrong.

"But maybe what you thought you wanted isn't the same thing as what you actually wanted?" Darwin guessed. Gumball nodded. "And what you really wanted wasn't for Rob to be your nemesis again?" Gumball thought about it for a bit and eventually nodded again, that did seem like the most likely reason for his feelings. Darwin sighed, it was time to just come out and say it. "I figured it was something like that. Look Gumball, I think you have feelings for Rob. More than nemesis type feelings."

"What? No! Of course I don't!" Gumball shouted. Darwin rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on Gumball, it's so obvious. You get excited every time he texts you, you follow him around whenever you run into him at the mall, and you talk about him all the time!"

"That doesn't mean anything!" Gumball insisted.

"Dude, you're even listening to the same song that you played for him on our porch!"

"You heard that, huh?" Gumball said sheepishly.

"Of course I did, it's a small house." Darwin said. Of course, he and Penny had also watched them from the window wondering what was going to happen, but Darwin didn't mention that part. "Why won't you just admit that you like him?"

"I can't like him! I'm in love with Penny! You know, my girlfriend?"

"You know, you can have a crush on two people at the same time. It's not unheard of."

"But if I really had a crush on him, I would know about it!"

"Not necessarily, remember when you first met Penny? You kept denying that you liked her, even to yourself. You kept saying that fourth graders didn't like girls."

"So, what? I don't know my own feelings?"

"No, I think you do, deep down. But whenever you don't want to deal with something you go into denial mode and pretend like it's not happening. You do it a lot, and it's not healthy." Gumball tried to rebuff him but he found that he was unable to do so. Was he really that denial crazy?

"Ok, so maybe I have a bit of a denial issue, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I like Rob. What with his stupid hexagonal face and those stupid traps that don't even work even though he puts a lot of effort into them and it makes me feel special, and he never smiles! He never smiles so the very few times he does you can tell that he means it and oh god."

"I know this isn't the right time to say "I told you so" but, I told you so."

"But I still like Penny! My feelings for her haven't changed! Ugh, what am I gonna do!"

"Honestly? I'm not sure. This is a complicated situation here. But I suggest you figure it out before someone gets hurt."

"I don't want anyone to get hurt! I didn't ask for these feelings!"

"I know. You know when I said "someone" that includes you too." Darwin told him. Gumball sighed.

"It doesn't matter anyways, he hates me. Just like I wanted." Gumball put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. "Alright, whatever. The best thing to do would be to just forget about this whole thing. Penny is my girlfriend and Rob is my nemesis, that's how it's supposed to be."

"I don't think it's a good idea to deny your feelings like that."

"I'm sure they'll go away eventually."

"Gumball, no. You're doing it again. You're going back into denial."

"Well, it's worked out ok for me in the past, hasn't it?"

"Not really."

"Well, i'm not going to wreck a perfectly good relationship for these weird feelings that might not even mean anything!" Darwin sighed, he knew this wasn't going to work out, but it seemed there was no convincing Gumball otherwise. There never was when it came to Gumball.


	2. Chapter 2

Gumball was out on a date with Penny for the first time since his big revelation, and he was a little bit sick to his stomach. He usually looked forward to and really enjoyed his dates with Penny, but now it almost felt wrong to keep going out with her when he knew he had a crush on someone else as well. He tried to rationalize it to himself, he still loved Penny, despite his new feelings, they were the same great couple that they'd always been, it wasn't like he was actually cheating on her. Gumball Watterson was many things, but he was not a cheater.

"Gumball, are you ok?" Penny asked, interrupting his train of thought. Gumball blinked and shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs in his brain.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just lost in thought for a while there." Gumball said dismissively. Penny gave him a concerned look but didn't say anything. Gumball brought up another topic and the date went back on track. After talking with Penny for a while his worries started to ease up and he actually started to enjoy himself again. He was in the middle of telling Penny a funny story about a crazy adventure that happened to him the other week when he happened to glance out the window and see Rob across the way standing in line to get a coffee. His words died in his throat. Oh no, why was he here? He had finally managed to get this date back on track, he was going to ruin everything!

"So? Then what happened?" Penny asked.

"Uhhh…." Gumball said. His mind had gone blank and he was incapable of forming words. A blush crept up his cheeks and his heartbeat quickened. So, he wasn't imagining it, he really did have a crush on him. Crap.

"Gumball what are you staring at?" Penny asked, leaning over to try to get a glance out the window.

"No don't look there!" Gumball shouted while trying to block her view. Penny gave him a confused look. "I mean….why look there when there's a much better view over there!" Gumball said while trying to pull Penny away from the window.

"Gumball what are you-?" Penny started to say. At that moment Rob happened to glance their way. Gumball gave a little screech and dove under the table, just missing Rob's line of sight. He didn't want to risk Rob seeing him. What if he wanted to talk? He couldn't handle that right now, not until he got his feelings sorted out. "What are you doing under the table?" Penny asked him.

"Just…..inspecting it! Yeah. Just looking for gum and stuff. I mean, you don't want to sit at a gummy table right?" Gumball said, forcing a laugh. Penny wasn't buying it, not even for a second. She knew Gumball pretty well by now, she could tell when he was lying. Gumball kept peeking above the table to see if Rob had left. Curse that infernally slow coffee line!

"Ok Gumball, seriously, what is going on with you? What do you keep looking at?" Penny shouted as she forced herself toward the window despite Gumball's interference and growing protests.

"No, no don't!" Gumball shouted. But it was too late, she could already see out the window, and she could take a pretty good guess about what was making him act so crazy.

"Gumball, are you trying to avoid Rob again?" Penny asked. Gumball sighed, there was no point in lying to her, she could already see right through him.

"Yes." Gumball admitted. Now Penny sighed.

"Look, I don't want to be mean or come between your nemesis-ship or whatever, but this is getting a little out of hand. I think we need to have a talk." Gumball nodded. He knew deep down that he couldn't hide this from Penny. Between her and Darwin he was pretty much an open book to the people who knew him well. His plan was pretty much doomed to fail. Most of his plans were.

"Yeah, I think you're right."


	3. Chapter 3

Gumball and Penny both left the mall pretty much immediately after that. Penny was right, they needed to talk and they didn't want to do it in a public place where just about anyone could hear them. They decided to go to Gumball's house. If they went to Penny's then her dad would just eavesdrop and use everything that Gumball said against him, at least his family would _pretend_ to give them some space. (Yes, Gumball knew that his family would eavesdrop on him whenever he was having a serious conversation. They weren't very stealthy and he would often join them whenever it was one of his siblings on the other side of the door.) They were in Gumball's room when Penny took a deep breath and began her spiel.

"Look Gumball, I don't want to be the bad guy here. I never wanted to be that girlfriend who would control who her boyfriend hangs out with, and I know that you and Rob have a….complicated history. But even you have to admit that there's something weird going on between the two of you."

"I know, I ignored you when I was trying to get him to hate me again. I'm sorry and I shouldn't have done that. But I was only avoiding him today because I didn't want him to see me and interrupt our date. I didn't think you would have a good time if he tried to destroy me or something. I was only thinking of you!" Gumball said. He wasn't exactly telling the truth but who knows what would happen if she found out about his crush. He couldn't lose Penny, he just couldn't. Penny gave a deep sigh.

"Gumball….you and I both know that's not true." Penny said. Silence hung in the air for a bit until Gumball got up the courage to say what came next.

"Well, maybe it isn't exactly the whole truth." Gumball admitted.

"What's going on Gumball?" Penny asked softly, as if she was afraid of his answer.

"I'm not quite sure myself. I'm trying to sort out my feelings and everything's just really complicated right now…"

"But you do have feelings for him?" Penny asked. Gumball froze, this was it, the moment of truth. He would be lucky if Penny ever talked to him again after this.

"...Yes." He whispered. It was barely audible, but Penny heard it. She didn't say anything but tears sprung in the corners of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Gumball's heart dropped, he hated it when someone he loved cried, especially if he was the one who caused it.

"I'm so sorry Penny. I never meant to hurt you." Gumball said, by now he was crying too. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I still love you, that hasn't changed." Penny wiped her tears away and started talking again.

"I know you didn't mean to." Penny said, and she meant it. She could tell how much Gumball cared about her. He wasn't the kind of person who would hurt her on purpose. "You can't control how you feel about someone." Penny took another deep breath, this was probably the hardest thing she's ever had to say. "But I think we need a little space while you sort out your feelings." It tore her apart to say that, she loved Gumball, and she knew he loved her too, despite his new feelings, but she knew that it was the right thing to do.

"Penny no! I promise that I'll never talk to Rob again! Just don't leave me! Please!" Gumball pleaded, her words broke his heart in two. He was willing to do anything to get her back. He couldn't bear to lose her.

"That's no solution." Penny said. "If you would truly be happier with him I don't want to hold you back."

"I wouldn't! I promise I wouldn't."

"I'm sorry Gumball." Penny said. She then walked out the door and headed home, leaving Gumball frozen in place. Now that the door was open he could see Darwin standing outside of it agast. At least his whole family wasn't eavesdropping this time. Darwin went over and gave his brother a hug and Gumball burst into tears


	4. Chapter 4

Rob was just finishing up his newest trap for Gumball. His heart wasn't really in it anymore, he still wanted to quit being his nemesis. But going up to Gumball and telling him that his last outburst was a one time thing and he was quitting again just seemed like a douchy thing to do. So, here he was. He made sure that the trap wouldn't kill Gumball, or even hurt him really. It would just trap him. And even then he was pretty sure that Gumball would be able to get out of it. He managed to get out of many increasingly crazy scenarios before, this probably wouldn't even phase him. Which was exactly what he was hoping for.

He finished up the trap and hid when he saw Gumball coming. He looked uncharacteristically sad, Rob noticed. Things didn't usually get to Gumball that often. He would usually brush everything off and make a sarcastic quip about it. The only time he saw him truly upset was that day at the mall, when he destroyed everyone he loved. Rob tried to shake away that image. It didn't matter, he reminded himself, it didn't even technically happen. Still, he did wonder what happened to make Gumball so sad. He didn't expect to feel as sorry for him as he did, but he was a pretty prominent figure in his life so he guessed it made sense. He watched as Gumball slid into the trap without even changing his expression, it would've been almost comical if it didn't seem so sad. Rob jumped out of the bush he was hiding behind and said "Ah ha! You have fallen for my trap!" He was totally phoning it in, but luckily Gumball didn't seem to notice. He was too busy having a small freak out. Rob was the _last_ person he wanted to see today.

"Can we just not do this right now?" Gumball asked. Rob dropped the villain act, he could tell that something was really wrong.

"How come? You ok?" He asked. Gumball was surprised that Rob actually seemed willing to drop it, so he answered him, hoping to convince him even further.

"It's just…..my girlfriend broke up with me and I'm just not in the mood, ok?" This surprised Rob, as whenever he saw them together they looked like the perfect couple. What could have caused her to break up with him? Of course, he only ever saw them from a distance, maybe there was some secret friction between them that he didn't know about.

"Oh, sorry man." Rob said. He didn't really know what to say in this situation. He wasn't very good at comforting people, and he didn't technically have friends for the past few years so his already lackluster social skills had only gotten worse.

"So, are you going to let me out now or what?" Gumball asked.

"Fine, it's no fun anyways without you trying to fight back." Rob grumbled. He pretended to be mad about this to keep up appearances but secretly he was thrilled to be off of villain duty for a while. He went over to let Gumball out of the trap and Gumball was just about to be on his way when he heard Rob say "So, since we're not fighting today, did you want to go get ice cream or something? Isn't that what you're supposed to do when someone breaks up with you?" Gumball was thrown by the offer. His mind started screaming at him " _don't do it Gumball! You just broke up with Penny, hanging out with Rob would be a bad idea!"_ But his curiosity overrode his common sense, as it had so often done before.

"I wouldn't know, this is my first break up." Gumball said. "But why not?" " _Nooooo!"_ His brain shouted " _Gumball Watterson, you are such an idiot!"_ Gumball was forced to agree.


	5. Chapter 5

Gumball was sitting across from Rob, working on his ice cream sundae, as awkward silence enveloped the two of them. I mean, what do you even talk about when you were trying to destroy each other just a few days before? Of course, Gumball's little crush on the guy that he just recently became aware of didn't help the situation at all. "So…...um…." Rob started to say, causing Gumball to look up from his ice cream. "Did you want to talk about it? The breakup I mean?" Gumball cast his eyes back downward.

"Not really, no." he mumbled. Rob nodded and the awkward silence returned.

"Well, whatever happened, I'm sure you two will work it out. I mean, you two were like, made for each other." _Literally,_ Rob thought. He was pretty sure that this breakup wasn't going to last. It was probably some last ditch attempt by the writers to create some drama and boost the ratings a bit. They would probably be back together by the end of the season, whenever that would be. Gumball and Penny were clearly the endgame couple, everyone could see that.

"Thanks, but I don't think so. I really messed up this time." Gumball said.

"Whatever it is you did, it couldn't have been that bad." Rob told him. Gumball was confused as to why he was sticking up for him. Didn't he hate him? Of course, that was partially his fault as he kept pestering him to be his nemesis again. God, how could he have gotten his feelings so mixed up?

"Why do you care anyways? I thought you hated me."

"It's…..It's complicated." Rob said simply. He wished he could tell him what happened with the remote, but he would never believe him. And even if he did, that didn't necessarily mean that their short lived friendship would be restored. How could Gumball possibly forgive him after everything that he did to him? He sure wouldn't if their positions had been reversed. "I used to hate you, but I don't think I do anymore. You're actually quite hard to hate." Gumball smiled a bit at this.

"I don't even know why you started hating me to be honest." He told him.

"That's….also complicated." Rob said. If he couldn't tell Gumball about what happened with the remote, he didn't know how to begin describing the void. Gumball gave him a strange look.

"And why did you stop? No, wait, let me guess, 'it's complicated?'"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Can you tell me anything?" Gumball asked, half joking, half not.

"I can tell you what my favorite flavor of ice cream is." Rob offered as he held up his bowl of mint chocolate chip.

"That's a very poor compromise." Gumball said.

"Why do you care anyways? It's not like we're friends." Rob mumbled. Gumball's face fell. He was right, they weren't friends, and Gumball couldn't answer the question without giving himself away.

"Why do you care about my breakup? If we're not friends." Gumball shot back. Rob froze, it was his own tactic used against him, and he didn't have a good answer either. The two were at a standstill for a while until Gumball finally decided to break it.

"Well…...maybe we're not friends, but we are nemesis, and most villains don't usually keep their pasts so secret. Heck, most of them do a whole monologue about it." Gumball said, trying to relieve the tension with a joke, but also trying to subtly let him know that if he wanted to unload about his past, it was ok with him. Rob was grateful for the tension break, that was getting awkward.

"Well I tried but you cut me off." Rob said in a lighthearted tone so Gumball would know that he wasn't mad, but instead Gumball just looked confused.

"What?" He asked. Oh crap! He forgot that Gumball couldn't remember that!

"Nevermind." Rob said quickly. Quick, change the topic. Change the topic! "Besides, I'm not taking any more advice from you about how to be a villain."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Gumball admitted, letting the previous comment go. Maybe he accidentally cut off a monologue of his and he didn't know about it. He did tend to get stuck inside his head sometimes and that sometimes made it hard for him to tell when other people were talking.

"So, why did you try to make me the villain anyways? Why do _you_ hate _me_?" Rob asked. Gumball took a deep breath.

"Rob, I don't hate you. I just wanted you to be my nemesis again. I liked having a nemesis to fight, it made me feel like….like a hero. I know I'm not perfect, I know I screw things up a lot, but if I was stopping you it made me feel like at least I was doing some good. That I was doing something right. And when you decided to quit I'll admit that my pride was hurt as well, I mean, who would want Banana Joe when you could have me, right?" Gumball attempted to joke, but it fell flat. Rob went through a bunch of different emotions after hearing that. A part of him was a little annoyed that he coerced him into being his nemesis again just because he felt bad about himself, but mostly he was surprised. Gumball seemed so confident, almost to the point of being cocky, it was hard to believe that he was hiding so much insecurity. Now Rob wondered how much of that confidence was just an act.

"Is that all I am to you? Just some random guy to fight?" Rob asked. Gumball could've laughed. If only that's all he was, it would make things so much easier. Did he really not know how much he meant to him?

"Maybe at first." He admitted. "But not anymore. I do kinda like hanging out with you." Now that was an understatement. "I wouldn't have tried to get you back if I didn't. I would've just moved on, I would've found a new nemesis."

"So…..you wanted to be my nemesis again because you _like_ me?" Rob said, trying to make sense of this.

"Twisted logic, I know. But I can't really explain how my mind works." Gumball admitted.

"So if I don't hate you and you don't hate me, do you think we could try to be friends again?" Rob asked with some slight hesitation in his voice. Gumball considered it. Did he really want to be friends with Rob again? It didn't so well last time. Of course, that was mostly his fault. Maybe it would be ok if he could just keep it casual. Just call him Casual Gumball, no weird feelings here. No sir.

"Alright, friends." Gumball agreed.


	6. Chapter 6

"So you and Rob are friends now?" Darwin asked.

"Yup."

"So, are you guys friends or…" Darwin said, raising his eyebrows.

"What? No. We're friends, just friends. Besides, this is all part of my master plan to get back together with Penny."

"Your what now?" Darwin asked, exasperated.

I mean, think about it. I only know Rob as this mysterious villain, that's why I'm attracted to him. The dark, brooding loner? Who wouldn't go for that? But if I hang out with him a bit then I'll get to know all of his annoying habits and disgusting quirks than I'll be able to nip this little crush in the bud in no time!"

"And you're sure this isn't just because you want to hang out with Rob?" Darwin said, in a tone that indicated that he already knew the answer.

"Well, it would be good to have him as a friend I think. I'm allowed to hang out with friends." Gumball said defensively. Darwin rolled his eyes, oh well, at least Gumball was acknowledging that he liked Rob as a friend. That was better than insisting that they were enemies.

"What do Mrs. Mom and Mr. Dad think of this?"

"I guess we'll find out. He's coming over today."

"Really?" Darwin said, eyebrows raised, a sly grin on his face.

"Stop looking at me like that! It's not like that. I found out that he's never seen Alligators on a Train and I had to rectify that immediately."

"Hmmm" Darwin said in disbelief, that sly grin not going anywhere. Suddenly the doorbell rang and Gumball jumped in surprise.

"That's him! Don't you dare say anything!"

"I won't!" Darwin said with a "who, me?" look on his face. Gumball was unconvinced and gave Darwin the "I am watching you" gesture with his fingers before going to open the door.

"Hi Rob!" Gumball said nervously. "Welcome to the Watterson house! I mean, I know you've been here before when you were living in our basement and everything. But this is the first time I've actually invited you over so…" " _Gumball, you're babbling, stop talking!"_ He told himself. Luckily Rob was nervous too so he didn't notice that Gumball was sweating bullets.

"Yeah, thanks for inviting me."

"No problem. That's part of this whole "friends" thing that we're trying. Besides, you have to see this movie." Gumball led Rob into the living room where he took a quick look around.

"This place hasn't really changed much since I was last here." He remarked.

"Yeah, it never really does." Gumball admitted. His parents then came into the living room, interrupting their conversation. They were curious and wanted to meet Gumball's new friend. He didn't ask people over that often. "Oh, Rob, these are my parents. I don't think you've met them yet. Mom, Dad, this is my friend Rob."

"It's nice to meet you." Rob said, extending his arm for a handshake. He had seen Gumball's parents from a distance, most notably when he was trying to use the remote to break them up, but he's never actually talked to them face to face. Nicole accepted and returned the handshake.

"Likewise" She told him. Richard looked at him in confusion, as if trying to figure something out, which startled Rob a little.

"Hey, I think I know you from somewhere." Richard said.

"Really?" Rob was surprised, he wasn't used to being remembered.

"Oh yeah! Weren't you the guy who had us steal the bus?" Richard asked. Rob paled, right, he forgot that Gumball's dad was one of the people he got involved in his "hijack the bus" scheme. He honestly didn't plan it that way, the plan would've worked with any parents, or not worked, as was the case.

"What?! This is the guy who did that?!" Nicole shouted. She knew the whole story, even though she wasn't there. Gumball excitedly told her about the whole thing as soon as he got home afterwards. While he thought it was the coolest thing ever, Nicole had been scared for her son's safety, albeit she was a little proud of him for stopping the whole thing. Rob noticed her tone and shrunk back, afraid.

"Y-Yeah….that was me….." He sputtered.

"If you ever try to hurt my son again I swear…"

"Mom, please don't scare him." Gumball asked, embarrassed. Why did she have to be so overprotective?

"I've left all of that stuff behind, I promise." Rob said. Nicole backed off, but still gave Rob a pointed stare. Rob made a mental note not to get on Nicole's bad side.

"Alright, enough with the third degree here, we're just trying to watch a movie." Gumball said, attempting to shoo his parents away. They did eventually leave, but not before Nicole gave Rob a long stare. Gumball popped the movie in the dvd player and as soon as it started it was apparent that this movie didn't win any oscars. It was one of those classic "so bad it's good" films where alligators chomped on people in the train with crappy effects and our stock cliche characters have to save to day. This was not a movie to analyze, this was a movie to be laughed was laughing within seconds, while it took Rob a little while longer to warm up, but eventually he started enjoying the movie.

"Oh god." Rob said, cracking up. "This movie is so bad."

"That's what makes it so good!" Gumball said, cracking up with him. He had seen this movie hundreds of times but seeing it with Rob and watching his reaction to it made it feel fresh and new. Rob, meanwhile, hadn't laughed like that in a long time. If you had told him a month ago that he would be hanging out and laughing with Gumball Watterson he would not have believed you. And yet here he was. It was nice to be able to laugh again, he noted, he hadn't done it in a while. Maybe a distraction was just what he needed. Heck, maybe a friend was just what he needed. Maybe this whole "Friendship with Gumball" thing was going to work out after all.


	7. Chapter 7

After the movie was over it had gotten late and Gumball convinced Rob to sleep over. It took a lot of convincing, with Rob continually insisting that he didn't want to be a burden and Gumball continually telling him that it wasn't a problem. His attitude surprised Gumball, apparently trying to blow him up with a bomb was ok but taking a favor from him was just too much. He couldn't even pretend to understand that logic. Rob was currently laying in a sleeping bag in Gumball and his sibling's room. Both Darwin and Anais were asleep but Rob just couldn't manage to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. He was keenly aware that the last time he was here he had been hiding in the Watterson's basement. Gumball couldn't sleep either, the glow from Rob's static parts was keeping him up. He would say something but Rob got weird whenever someone mentioned his static. Still, this was getting annoying.

"Hey, you awake?" Gumball whispered to Rob. If he wasn't going to sleep he at least wanted to talk to somebody.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I'm bored, I want someone to talk to."

"You have got to be kidding me." Rob grumbled.

"Nope. Hey! Why don't we go raid the fridge? Everyone's asleep."

"Won't we get in trouble?" Rob asked.

"Nah, and even if we do we can just blame it on my dad." Gumball hopped out of bed and headed towards the kitchen. Rob hesitated. "Come on, I've seen you fight on the wing of a plane, you can't be scared of a little refrigerator." That did it, he couldn't have Gumball thinking he was a coward, plus he hadn't had a good meal in a while. They both snuck down to the kitchen, careful not to wake Gumball's sleeping siblings. Gumball opened the fridge and grabbed ice cream, cookies, and some candy. Rob was craving something saltier and got a bag of chips. They both ate in silence for a bit but eventually it became too much for Gumball to stand and he broke the tension.

"You know, it occurs to me that I don't know a whole lot about you."

"And who's fault is that?" Rob asked sarcastically, but Gumball brushed him off.

"How about a game? I get to ask you three questions, and you ask me three questions in return."

"Why would I agree to do that?"

"Oh, come on. Isn't there anything that you ever wanted to know about me?" Gumball asked.

"I know more about you than I would care to." is what Rob _wanted_ to say. But the young cat seemed so keen on the game that it was hard for him to tell him no. So instead he gave a long sigh and said "Alright fine."

"Great! I'll go first! Ok, uh….. what do you want to be when you grow up?" Rob laughed. They probably wouldn't get to grow up. Unless there was a flash-forward episode at some point. Maybe as an epilogue during the final episode? Even then, he wouldn't have a say in it. Gumball mistook his laughter and said "What? Too "third grade counselor"-y?"

"A little bit." Rob admitted. Still, it was a nice thought exercise if nothing else. "Well, I like baking, maybe I could do something with that." Gumball couldn't help himself, he giggled a bit. "You have a problem with that?" Rob asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no, it's not that. It's just, that's not what I pictured you saying at all. With the whole "former villain" thing it's a strange combo. Like, It's hard to be scared of someone who's baked you cookies."

"Who said I would share my cookies?" Rob joked.

"Oh, well that is evil." Gumball said, laughing.

"You know, there's more to me than just my villain persona."

"Clearly."

"Ok, what about you, Mr. High and mighty? What do you want to do?"

"It's silly, but I kinda want to work in television, maybe directing? I think it would be cool to have my own TV show." Gumball said. Rob could've laughed. Of course, of course he would want to do that. _You already have your own show Gumball!_ He wanted to tell him. Of course, it wasn't really the same thing. If only he knew the truth, that would certainly change his mind. Or maybe not, maybe directing his own show would be his way of getting some control in this situation, being the one who creates the show instead of being the creation. Gumball mistook his expression and said "What? You don't like TV?"

"It's not that. It's just…..I can totally see it." Rob said. Gumball smiled.

"Your turn." He said

"I already asked you a question." Rob protested.

"You repeated my question, that doesn't count."

"Ok, uh…..what's your favorite color?"

"Boo! Lame!" Gumball said while playfully giving Rob a thumbs down.

"I'm standing by my question."

"Alright, fine. Blue." Gumball said.

"Predictable."

"How is that predictable?"

"Blue is the most popular answer, plus it's the color of your fur."

"A different shade of blue than that!" Gumball protested. "So what's your favorite color?"

"Black." Rob said. Gumball laughed.

"And you're calling me predictable? Every moody teenager likes black. And black isn't even a color!"

"Yes it is!" Rob protested.

"Black is the absence of color, even I know that."

"Semantics!" Rob said, throwing a chip at him. Of course, potato chips weren't meant to be thrown so it dropped to the ground before it could make contact.

"I've got a better question, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?" Gumball said, adopting a serious expression. This question was a big deal to him, he took superpowers very seriously. Rob pondered it for a second, this question he had to think about.

"Shapeshifting" He eventually decided on.

"Really? How come?"

" _Then maybe I could get out of this broken body and feel like myself again."_ "I just think it would be cool."

"Ok, vague. Well, I'd like to fly."

"How come?"

"I feel like it would be such a rush, you know. To go flying in the air without a care in the world. It sounds nice."

"What cares could you possibly have? Your life is perfect." Rob said, a bit bitterly. Gumball looked at him surprised.

"My life isn't perfect Rob." He said sincerely. Rob scoffed.

"What isn't perfect? You have parents who love you but aren't overbearing, a little sister who looks up to you and is smart enough to help you with your problems, and a best friend who's a part of your family and lives with you."

"Yeah, my family's pretty great." Gumball admitted. "But what about the rest of it? I have a teacher who hates my guts, I struggle in school, I don't actually have a ton of friends outside of the family, and I'm constantly thrown into all these crazy situations where I almost get myself killed!"

"Well it's better than being the villain! Constantly having to be evil or risk being forgotten by everyone!"

"What? I thought you liked being the villain. I mean, it's not like you ever tried to quit, you had just moved on to fighting someone else. Plus, it's kind of fun playing the bad guy, you get to do all kinds of crazy stuff."

"You do all kinds of crazy stuff, and you're not the bad guy." Rob pointed out.

"True, but some of the best was with you. Remember fighting on that plane? You can't tell me that you didn't enjoy that at least a little." Rob smiled a bit, yeah, that was kinda fun. It was nice being a part of the action for once.

"Ok, you got me there. But I never wanted to be the villain, you know? First I was just blinded by my anger, then I felt like if I wasn't the bad guy then I would have no purpose and…" _I would go back to the void again._ He thought.

"Oh." Gumball said. He looked away, ashamed. It was partially his fault that Rob ended up being the villain in the first place, as it was his idea. Still, Rob didn't have to go so far with it. Gumball had always thought of it as kind of a game, he didn't take it too seriously. If Rob wasn't happy with the arrangement, then what even was the point? "Well, I'm sorry if I ever forced it on you. I kinda thought you liked being the villain, or I wouldn't have suggested it." Rob wasn't sure if Gumball's words were true, but he appreciated them nonetheless.

"Thanks Gumball." He whispered.

"It's your turn to ask a question." Gumball reminded him. Rob thought of a few questions like, "What's your favorite TV show?" or "If you could only bring one thing to a deserted island, what would you bring?" but instead he found himself asking "Do you really hate going on your adventures?" Gumball sighed.

"Not really, no. I was being overly dramatic earlier. I'm the kind of person who needs adventure every once in a while or life would get too boring. I just wouldn't be me without them. I just wish I could take a break every now and then. The last time I tried to have a veg out day the universe was actively trying to stop me, like it was sentient or something. But of course that's ridiculous." Rob forced out a laugh. He knew full well that in a way, it was. They probably had an episode or something planned that day that Gumball was unintentionally thwarting. "I know I can be a little crazy sometimes, and I don't mean to be, but I like a little crazy. It's what makes life worth living.

"I get it, sometimes I wished that I could go on some of your adventures with you." Rob admitted. This surprised Gumball, most people usually avoided him for fear of getting dragged into an adventure, apart from a few people, like Clayton or Tobias.

"Maybe you should come on one sometime." Gumball offered.

"I'd like that." Rob said. "Anyways, it's your turn." Gumball thought about what he wanted his question to be. He thought about keeping it light, but he felt like he had actually started to bond a bit with Rob, and he wanted to keep it going.

"What's your biggest fear?" Gumball whispered in the dark. Rob started panicking. Should he tell him the truth? No one would know if he lied, right? He was all set to lie to him when he blurted out "being forgotten." Gumball gave him a surprised look.

"Wow, deep." He said, he was expecting him to name something more tangible, like spiders or something. "I feel you there." he admitted. Rob looked at him equally surprised.

"Really? But you're Gumball Watterson!" _The star of the show._ He wanted to add, but didn't. "You always get into all these crazy adventures and do all of this insane stuff all the time. No one would ever forget you."

"Why do you think I do all of that insane stuff in the first place? Well, that's one of the reasons anyways. I also do it because it's fun, and because adventure just seems to follow me wherever I go, I already mentioned that." Gumball said. "But yeah, I've almost been replaced a couple times. First by Bobert, then by Zach, all that stuff, so I try to make myself too memorable to be replaced. Sometimes I wonder why I bother though, if everyone would be better off without me." Gumball was surprising himself by saying all this. He hadn't told this to anyone before. Well, except Darwin, he told Darwin everything.

"That's not true." Rob told him. If he wasn't around then this whole show wouldn't exist, so neither would they. Of course, Gumball didn't know this, but he did know about the people he helped throughout the years. Darwin, Penny, Molly, and he was sure there were others that he didn't know about. Gumball looked surprised that Rob was sticking up for him. Yes they were technically friends now but that was a recent development.

"What about you?" Gumball asked.

"What about me?" Rob asked, confused.

" _You_ would be better off without me. I must have done _something_ to make you hate me. Unless you're just that petty." Gumball said. Rob was struggling a bit here. He wanted to reassure him, but he couldn't exactly explain why he hated him without mentioning The Void, and that would inspire a whole host of questions that he didn't really want to get into.

"Well, some things happened to me and I wanted someone to blame. Your life seemed so perfect, so it was easier to blame you then to blame the world. At least if I blamed you I could potentially do something about it." Rob said.

"You're still not gonna tell me what happened, are you?" Gumball asked. Rob shook his head. Gumball sighed, he had just bared his soul here and still Rob insisted on keeping his secrets. Maybe they weren't as good of friends as he thought they were. "Well, I won't forget you Rob. Believe it or not, I really care about you, even if you don't feel the same way about me."

"It's not…..You know how I said that you were quite hard to hate?" Gumball nodded. "I think I might have to go past "not hating you" to actually liking you." Rob admitted. Gumball smiled.

"I can live with that."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So yeah, remember this story? Sorry it's been so long, It's Over When It's Over kinda took up all my time and attention. But now that I have some more time on my hands due to** **quarantine I wanted to update some of my long forgotten fanfics. Hope you enjoy!**

The days passed and Gumball and Rob became better and better friends. Gumball introduced him to more bad movies and as a trade off Rob would show him some of his favorite movies- the old classics. Gumball groaned about it at first, calling them "boring", but some actually managed to win him over and sucked him into the stories. One of them actually got Gumball to cry, which Rob teased him about to no end. They did other things too, Gumball taught Rob how to play some of his favorite video games and Rob once taught Gumball how to bake cookies without burning the house down. But after a while Gumball realized that they only hung out at his house or at some neutral place, like the park or the mall. In all the time he had known him he had never seen where Rob lived. Thinking about it further, did he even live anywhere? He did first meet him because he was secretly staying at his house. Where did he go when he wasn't with him? And why was now the first time he had thought to ask this question? He became curious and decided that he was going to solve this mystery. One day after Rob left his house he decided he was going to secretly follow him to see where he went. Rob was about halfway back to where he lived when he heard a giant crash behind him followed by a harsh whisper of a pseudo-expletive.

"Gumball? Is that you?" He shouted into the air.

"Uhh...no?" He heard Gumball's voice say behind a pile of stuff behind him. That was hardly even an attempt to throw him off. It's like he wasn't even trying.

"Gumball, I know it's you. Just come out from there," Rob said, rolling his eye. Gumball came out from his hiding place, looking embarrassed and a tad guilty. "What are you even doing anyways?"

"I wanted to see where you lived so I kinda...followed you," Gumball said, wincing. It sounded kinda bad when he said it out loud like that.

"You know you could've just asked, right?

"Well, you always seemed so cagey whenever I brought up what you did when you weren't with me so I didn't think I would get a straight answer," Gumball admitted. Rob thought about it for a little bit and realized that he did have a point. He probably wouldn't have given him a straight answer if he had just asked. Rob let out a deep sigh. He wasn't actually thinking of doing this, was he?

"Alright, since you've made it this far you might as well come with me the rest of the way," He relented. Gumball's eyes lit up.

"Really?!"

"Just don't make me regret this," Rob added as the little blue furball started excitedly following him.

"I won't, I promise, I'll be cool," Gumball promised. Rob knew that Gumball was pretty much incapable of being cool about anything, but he kept going anyway. Gumball started to quiet down as they entered a sketchier part of town. He was small, cute, and not much help in a fight, so he stuck close to Rob. Rob approached an apartment building which appeared to be abandoned and started climbing up the fire escape, with Gumball close on his heels.

"Watch your step there, it's kinda rickety," Rob warned. Gumball was starting to get nervous. This was definitely illegal, right? Still, he did ask, he practically pestered the guy to let him see the place, so he couldn't exactly back out now. Rob reached one of the windows, opened it, and crawled through it, then motioned for Gumball to do the same. Gumball did so and found himself in an unfurnished apartment building. There was nothing in it besides an old mattress, an old refrigerator, a few boxes serving as a dinner table, and a cheap TV in the corner. "Well, this is it," Rob said. He was well aware of how depressing it all looked, but it wasn't like he could afford much else. Gumball looked around the room, eyes wide. He knew Rob had his struggles, and it's not like Gumball's family had a lot of money either, but Rob was _poor_. Gumball wasn't sure what he expected, he knew that Rob didn't have any family or friends, and he did meet the guy because he was secretly living in their basement for a while, but still. This was no way for anyone to live.

"Wow, you actually live like this?" Gumball said. He then winced due to how rude that was. But he couldn't help it, it was one of his impulsive comments. It was out of his mouth before he even thought about what he said. Luckily Rob took it in stride.

"Yeah, I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do." He said. Gumball wished that he had known about this earlier, he could've done something to help. He _should've_ done something to help. He should've done something more when they discovered him in their basement instead of just making him their villain. Why didn't he interrogate him further that day? How could he have been so stupid?

"You know, you could always come and crash at my place if you want to, just not in the basement this time," Gumball said with a smile. Rob smiled back and chuckled a little.

"I'm fine, I wouldn't want to impose or anything."

"It's not a big deal."

"I just wouldn't want to…."

"Rob, it's fine. I want you to," Gumball said sincerely. Rob smiled even more and Gumball blushed and looked away. _God, you're being so transparent._ He told himself. _Why not hand your heart over on a silver platter while you're at it?_ "So, why hide all this from me?" He said, trying to change the subject. "I get that it's not the best place to live, but isn't that all the more reason to ask for help?"

"I was embarrassed, mostly," Rob admitted. "It wasn't always like this you know," Gumball's ears pricked up with interest. Rob didn't talk about himself much, so naturally Gumball got curious. "I used to live with my family in a nice house, like you do. My mom left when I was young, so it was just me and my dad, but he did his best for me, and things were nice for a while."

"So what happened?" Gumball asked. "Is he...did he die?" he realized that was kind of crass, but he didn't know any other way to ask that question.

"I don't know. I don't know what happened to him. I...disappeared for a while, and when I came back he was gone."

"And you didn't go to the police or anything?" Gumball asked. In truth, Rob had thought about it, but what was he going to say? That he had been lost in a void for a while and no one could remember him and his father may or may not be trapped in there too? Yeah, that didn't sound crazy. And even if he wasn't in The Void, even if he could find him, then he probably wouldn't even remember him, just like everyone else. He couldn't deal with that, not from his own father, so he never went looking for him.

"I did. They weren't very helpful," Rob lied. Gumball nodded, that matched up with what he knew about the police in this town. Still, they should've done _something_ , you couldn't just let a kid live on his own.

"What do you mean that you disappeared?"

"I went missing for a while, I don't remember much of what happened during that time." Another lie, and this time Gumball wasn't fooled so easily. If a kid had disappeared from Elmore, how could he not have known about it? That kind of thing tended to attract a lot of attention. Something wasn't adding up here, there were a lot of gaps in his story. It felt like he was missing some crucial information.

"Really? You don't remember any of it?" Rob shook his head. "And no one went looking for you? Your family? Your friends?"

"I don't know, can we just drop it please?!" Rob said, looking agitated. Gumball immediately felt guilty. In trying to get to the bottom of his story he had accidentally hurt Rob's feelings. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I'm sorry," Gumball said. "I didn't mean to bring up anything painful for you, I just...You deserve so much better than this." He gestured around the room as he said that. "There was no way that this should've happened. I was trying to figure out how to fix it." Rob gave him a long look. Darn Gumball and his endless optimism, he should've known that he would try to meddle in this situation. Of course, a part of him _did_ know that he would react this way and he brought him here anyways. Why did he do that? Did a part of him _want_ him to try and fix things? But what could Gumball even do? He didn't know about The Void, he didn't know about half of the stuff he went through. Plus, what if the TV show wouldn't allow it? He had already been breaking the rules by befriending Gumball, and he considered himself lucky that their relationship hadn't reset by now. But the hero helping the villain? That wasn't done. Maybe it was simply his destiny to have a bad life.

"You can't fix everything Gumball," Rob said sadly. Gumball gave him a determined look in return. Rob may have given up on the world, but that didn't mean that he had to. He knew that Rob deserved better, even if Rob didn't believe that himself. This was Elmore for god's sake, anyone could get a happy ending here. Even Rob

"I can try."


End file.
